Kaja Kallas on EU defense spending: Countries must make some tough decisions

The European Union's foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has stressed the need for more investment in defense, while keeping in mind that the bloc's funds still constitute taxpayer money.
Kallas stressed that defense investments must be done collectively, with individual member states contributing their share.
She also noted that the first messages from the U.S. are encouraging, a week after Donald Trump was sworn in as president.
Kallas, who has been High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy since last summer, told ERR: "EU funds also come from taxpayers' pockets. The member states must be ready to make some tough decisions. Unfortunately, it is not as if Europe can pull this money out of a hole in the wall."
How rising defense costs can be financed within the EU is still hard to say, Kallas acknowledged.
She said: "We must remain open to discussing these solutions. Right now, the situation is very challenging, as some member states say one option won't work, while others say the opposite won't work."
As for newly returned U.S. president, Donald Trump, Kallas said that the first messages from the White House are somewhat encouraging.
"It is right to apply pressure—political, economic, and international—on Russia. It is truly encouraging that he understands this," Kallas said.
Could the EU, for example, ban the import of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia while also fulfilling Trump's wish to buy more natural gas, as LNG, from the U.S.?
"Yes, this would indeed kill two birds with one stone," Kallas said in response. "We are working on the next sanctions package, which includes a ban on LNG imports from Russia."
Trump's threats on Greenland have not harmed relations, Kallas added; Europe believes that the U.S. respects Denmark's territorial integrity and international law.
"So far, these are just words. We are approaching this matter exactly as Denmark has been. Yes, all member states stand in solidarity with Denmark, whatever stance Denmark ends up taking. As Greenland is a self-governing territory within [the Kingdom of] Denmark, their opinion is the most significant one here."
Upon entering office a second time, Donald Trump has resurrected claims he made during his first term that control of the resource-rich, vast, Arctic island of Greenland, with a population of a little under 57,000, should by rights belong to the U.S.
Kallas said she had also invited Marco Rubio, the new U.S. Secretary of State, the U.S. foreign minister in other words, to Brussels, to take part in a meeting of European foreign ministers.
"This is an open invitation for him to come and discuss these matters whenever it suits him," Kallas went on.
However, the American side has not yet accepted the invite, and while the European Commission has sought contact with the new administration, no high-level meetings have taken place as yet.
This could hint at a greater inward-looking isolationist approach or at least the U.S. dealing with other nations on a case-by-case basis rather than in blocs.
"This is challenging mainly because, looking at their messages about international organizations, it seems that the new U.S. administration has little faith in multilateralism. They seem to prefer bilateral relations between different countries," Kallas said.
These have started to crystallize anyway, Kallas added, saying: "It is clear that the EU represents 27 different member states, and these contacts are gradually forming now that the administration has been in office for about seven days."
Estonia and other NATO eastern flank EU member states have been in the forefront of calling for a greater proportion of GDP to be spend on defense than most Western European nations put up, even before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.
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Editor: Joakim Klementi, Mirjam Mäekivi, Andrew Whyte